The 264 groups in the Clean Budget Coalition are applauding congressional lawmakers who fought to remove hundreds of poison pill policy riders from the omnibus text, particularly the minority leadership and appropriators in both chambers of Congress. Thanks to their hard work and determination, Americans are getting a funding package for FY 2018 that is mostly free from these harmful measures, which would have threatened our environment, our campaign finance system and women’s health, rolled back Wall Street reforms and worker protections, and much more.
Earlier this month, the coalition asked Congress to wipe away the filthy riders, and it looks like lawmakers got the message – a significant victory for the public. Although a number of old riders remained in the funding package and a handful of new ones were snuck in, the coalition will continue the fight to remove these measures in the next budget cycle. Most of the removed measures were special favors for big corporations and ideological extremists that had nothing to do with funding our government and could not become law on their own merits. As such, they had no place in appropriations legislation.
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Cleaning Instructions, Sponges Delivered to All 535 Hill Offices, Urging Lawmakers to Wipe Away Dirty Omnibus Riders
WASHINGTON, D.C. – “Make your budget so clean it sparkles!” reads a set of cleaning instructions delivered today to all 535 members of Congress, courtesy of the Clean Budget Coalition, which is fighting to remove hundreds of harmful riders from the omnibus spending package due on March 23. The cleaning instructions were accompanied by green scouring pad sponges and a list of dirty riders that need to be scrubbed away from the appropriations package. See images below.
“There’s nothing worse than a dirty budget,” the instructions say. “Federal budget and appropriations legislation should not contain filthy riders. Follow these care and cleaning instructions to remove any and all of the inappropriate riders from the omnibus.” Cleaning supplies recommended by the instructions include:
– A fresh sponge to help lawmakers scrub away the hundreds of dirty riders;
– Disinfecting soap that will make the omnibus so clean it sparkles;
– Protective gloves so lawmakers avoid direct contact with all the toxic poison pills;
– A cleaning apron to avoid ugly stains on lawmakers’ public appearance;
– A mop and bucket in case dirty riders spill onto the House or Senate floor; and
– Fresh towels to wipe away the mess the harmful riders made in the appropriations process.
“If lawmakers are going to wipe away all the dirty riders by the March 23 deadline, they really need to put their backs into it,” said Lisa Gilbert, vice president of legislative affairs for Public Citizen who co-chairs the Clean Budget Coalition. “The sponges and cleaning instructions should remind lawmakers in both parties that passing a clean omnibus spending package is a top priority. Among the hundreds of dirty riders that must be removed from the funding package are measures that would do lasting harm to our nation’s campaign finance system, our environment, women’s health, civil rights, worker health and safety, immigrant communities, Wall Street reforms that protect consumers and our economy, and more.”
On March 1, the 200 civil society groups in the coalition hosted a telephone press conference featuring U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), U.S. Reps. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) and Jan Schakowsy (D-Ill.), and coalition leaders – who called for the exclusion of toxic riders as a precondition of Democratic support. An audio recording of the call is available online.
CREDITS: Noun Project icons designed by Philipp Bock, Yorlmar Campos, ILKEBRS, Rudy Jaspers, kareemovic2000, Laymik, parkjisun, Dev Patel and Royyan Wijaya. Cleaning instructions designed by David Rosen, communications officer on regulatory affairs for Public Citizen. All images and videos on this page are public domain. Additional media content will be posted as it becomes available.
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Images and Video
Leahy, Lowey, Schakowsky, Coalition Leaders Call for a Clean Omnibus Package That Excludes Dirty Riders
WHAT: With the March 23 funding deadline just three weeks away, the Clean Budget Coalition will host a telephone press conference on Thursday afternoon featuring members of Congress and coalition leaders. Speakers will call for a clean omnibus appropriations package with no corporate or ideological riders that would harm the public and will explain the harms of these measures. At the conclusion of the call, speakers will take questions from the press.
Of particular concern this year is a perennial rider that has prevented scientific research into gun violence at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This research could help protect toddlers from accidentally firing a weapon, reduce gun-related suicides and help evaluate the effectiveness of public education, background checks and other commonsense measures to reduce needless injuries and deaths.
Among the hundreds of other dirty riders that must be removed from the funding package are measures that would do lasting harm to our campaign finance system, our environment, women’s health, civil rights, worker health and safety, immigrant communities and Wall Street reforms that protect consumers and our economy. See this recent memo for more details.
WHEN: 2 p.m. EDT, Thursday, March 1
WHO: U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)
U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.)
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsy (D-Ill.)
Robert Weissman, president, Public Citizen (moderator)
Trip Van Noppen, president, Earthjustice
Mike Brune, executive director, Sierra Club
Dana Singiser, vice president of public policy, Planned Parenthood
Seema Nanda, vice president and chief operating officer, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
Andrew Rosenberg, Center for Science and Democracy director, Union of Concerned Scientists
Lisa Donner, executive director, Americans for Financial Reform
